WASHINGTON — As both sides prepare for the question and answer portion of the Senate impeachment trial, the manuscript of former national security adviser John Bolton is hovering over Senators who are considering calling witnesses in the next phase of the trial.

According to aides, Sen. Mitch McConnell told members in a meeting on Tuesday that he does not yet have the votes to block witnesses. While calls for John Bolton to testify have intensified in recent days, some senators like Rick Scott are not convinced that additional witnesses and evidence is needed.

“That all could have come out in the House. The House voted to do an impeachment inquiry — we didn’t do that. They could have subpoenaed John Bolton, they elected not to,” Scott explained in an interview with Spectrum News.

“As of now, I think the White House counsel has just decimated Schiff’s case, they don’t even have a case right now,” he added.

Conversations about where Republicans are on the witness question have taken on a new sense of urgency as the Senate enters the next phase of the trial. If some Republicans want to hear from Bolton, Scott says it may require a deal to bring witnesses that the President wants.

“If we are going to have witnesses, then we are going to have Joe Biden, we are going to have Hunter Biden, we are going to have the inspector general of the intelligence community Atkinson, we’re going to have Adam Schiff, the whistleblower, a lot of people,” he said.

However, Democrats have quashed talk of a potential witness swap, saying the Bidens are not relevant witnesses to the underlying articles of impeachment.

“This trial should stay focused on material witnesses, not alternative facts but facts that do not change,” said House impeachment manager Val Demings, a Democrat from Florida’s 10th congressional district.

Florida’s senior Sen. Marco Rubio has stayed silent since the Senate impeachment trial began, repeatedly fending off reporters in the halls of Congress. An aide for the Senator said he will not be speaking with media until the trial is over.

Now, Republicans must decide how to move forward, with an eye toward several moderates wavering on the witness question.

“I’m going to let everybody speak for themselves. I know where I am. I will continue to listen to both sides during this Q&A period,” Scott said.